Thursday marked the end of Team Planet’s oral presentation of our proposal the URA concept plan 2011. Overall, I felt that the presentation went smoothly as most things fell into place. All of this is attributed to the entire team’s effort in putting together the proposal and presentation. One notable thing about Team Planet is that we have always prepared the proposal and presentation like we were going to present it to URA representatives. With clear idea of the reader and audience in mind, it helped us greatly in relating to the audience.
I am grateful to work with such an effective team who was extremely dedicated in getting things done properly and never compromising on quality despite facing the pressure of time. My detailed reflection on the different parts of the oral presentation can be found in the rest of this blog post.
Preparation and use of slideware
The preparation for this oral presentation was an unique experience with many first-times for me.
Firstly, it was the first time I wrote a speech text before an oral presentation. I used to think that with a good knowledge of the topic and the slides to remind me I could naturally elaborate on every point and deliver a presentation. My idea was proven wrong after my Peer teaching session (which was honestly one of the worst public speaking experience I ever had). After that experience, I truly comprehend what Ms Lim meant when she told us that if we do not make a deliberate effort to think about what we are going to do during the presentation, it will not happen during the presentation. Therefore, I told myself that I was not going to take chances for the final oral presentation. I prepared a speech text that contained the lines which I intended to say during the presentation and refined it until it can be completed within 5 minutes after the practices with my team.
Secondly, it was the first time I used the program Prezi to prepare slides for my presentation. It was a risk that we decided to take as a team as we only learnt about the software one day before the actual presentation. To be honest, I was initially sceptical about how much value a flash program was going to add to our team’s presentation and the fact that we were only left with less than 14 hours before our actual presentation made me question the idea even more. However, my team members’ determination reassured that it was a risk worth taking. Everyone was determined to make the flash presentation work despite facing the time constraint and technical difficulties along the way. I could not tell how the audience received the slideware. Personally, I was very pleased with the effect that the software delivered and I am proud of our work. I am confident that given more time, we are able to further refine the presentation slides to perfection.
Delivery
I would say that the overall delivery of the presentation was smooth. I was glad that after numerous practices with my team and on my own, I was able present confidently without the aid of cue cards even without deliberate memorisation.
Delivery of this presentation was an unique experience in its own too. I used to feel very nervous before a presentation but this time, I felt confident speaking to the audience after adequate preparation with my team mates. I was aware of some mistakes which I made during the presentation. One obvious mistake took place during the start of the presentation, I unknowingly snapped my fingers when I started speaking, I believe that it came across as rude to the audience. At the start of the presentation, I also forgot to gesture towards my team members while I was introducing them. Other glitches happened during the presentation when I stammered during some parts of the presentation (possibly due to my nerves). At some point during the presentation, I habitually crossed my arms and I know that this action was inappropriate as it meant defensiveness. I was aware of this action and I made a deliberate effort to not repeat it. Another mistake was when I replied Thomas’s question with “huh?” when I could not hear him properly during the Q&A session. This was grave mistake and there are no excuses for that. I’m sorry Thomas!
Other areas which I could improve on was my facial expression. I made a deliberate effort to smile during the presentation but audience feedback told me that it was not very obvious. I could not really tell my body language as I did not plan the gestures which I was going to do during the presentation.
Overall, I was very proud of my team’s presentation. As a presenter, I am aware that I have many areas which need to be worked on. Lastly, I want to thank my team again for their dedication. Practising for the presentation in front of LT 25 during the wee hours is an experience that I will never forget. :)
Hey Pei Zi,
ReplyDeleteI felt that you did very well in your presentation. It can be seen that the introduction was meant for you. Like you said, we kept emphasizing the importance of ensuring relates to URA. Thanks to your passionate introduction, I felt that we have accomplished this. Your countless practice with your script has paid off, seeing that you did not need any cue cards.
I am glad that our group decided to take the risk in trying Prezi out. However, I felt that we could have improved much more in our presentation if we had known of the application much earlier. This would have allowed more time for editing and rehearsing.
I think that despite the setbacks stated in your post, you did a great job keeping eye contact and interacting with the audience. You looked calm and confident. Well done Pei Zi!
Yes! Rehearsing outside LT 25 was indeed an interesting experience. However, I hope it will not have to happen too often in my future projects!
Great job again Pei Zi! We are almost at the finishing line! =)
PS: Remember, do not let the opinions of others drown your inner voice. Good reminder for me as well.=)
Hey Pei Zi!
ReplyDeleteI would like to congratulate you on a job well done for your Oral Presentation. Amongst all the presenters, I felt that you were one the most prepared and confident.
It was a good choice to have you kick off your groups presentation as your introduction was strong and it set the tone for the rest of your team's presentation. You were also calm and convincing when you delivered your content.
One thing I would like to point out is that when we are very well prepared for our speech, we run the risk of sounding a bit drone-ish when delivering it. I felt that your presentation could have been even better with a little colour and zip, and perhaps a smile? haha
And don't beat yourself up for the "huh" incident. Although it did catch me off guard, I think that was a natural reaction that we sometimes can do little about. Hopefully this experience would be an opportunity for you to address it and soon you will even be able to conquer it!
All in all, it was an excellent presentation and you should be proud of how well you did. All the best for you future presentation and I will see you in class real soon! =]
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed by your presentation. You showed confidence, and knowledge about the topic you were presenting. Your presentation was generally smooth.
I agree with you that it takes conscious effort to remember to smile when presenting. However we do look friendlier when we smile. In your case there is nothing for me to pick on. If I must say something, it would be your swaying front and back. I saw that you used Ms Lim’s idea to keep from shifting your weight from side to side, but we are humans not statues that can stand without much motion.
Overall I feel that you did brilliantly.
Hey Peizi,
ReplyDeleteAwesome work! Picking you to introduce our project was one of the best decisions we made, seeing how motivated and determined you were to make your presentation perfect. I think it's also really awesome that you made a deliberate effort to correct yourself in the midst of the presentation, and amazing that you could even do that with everything going on in your head.
As for body language, I agree that you could have smiled more but consider that you were sick that day and couldn't hear. I think you did the best you could with those circumstances (:
Overall, you gave Team Planet its best possible start and set an example for the rest of us to follow (: you really did an awesome job!
Hi Ikhsan and Amanda!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliment! I think that the entire team played a very important role during my preparation for the OP. I remember my first draft for my speech text, it was too lengthy and I tried to cover too many points into 5 minutes. The result was that the presentation was too long and it lacked focus. It was through all of your feedback that I could refine it to one which could fit into 5 minutes and with a clearer focus. Once again, thank you all very much for your help and feedback during the rehearsals.
Like what Amanda said, I couldn't ask for a better team! :)
Hi Zab,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback! Yes, I agree that I could have done more to improve on my delivery so that the speech wouldn't sound memorized. I agree that I could have smiled more. I thought that I was smiling but it didn't show in front of the audience. I should have practiced more in front of the mirror :)
Hi Peh Joo,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback! I am aware that I have been swaying front and back despite place one foot in front to prevent myself from swaying to the sides. I realised that I do not really know how to move in front of the audience. lol!